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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. O. A. TOWER.

OAR COUPLING. No. 557,918 Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ANDREW B.GRAHAM. PMOTD-LITMQWASMINGTOMP C (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. A. TOWER.

I ,OAR COUPLING. No. 557,918.

Patented Apr.. 7, 1896.

INVENTOR @L/Li/h/Pb a wn'uzsss 3 SheetsSheet s. G, A. TOWER.

UAR COUPLING.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

VIII! AN DREW BERAHMJHOTD-UTMO. WASNINGVUKBG UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON A. TOWER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,918, dated April '7', 1896.

Application filed October 7, 1895. erial No. 564,878. .(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLINTON A. Town, of

' Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing two couplerheads A B constructed in accordance with my invention and having their parts in proper position to enable them to be coupled together. A is a horizontal section in locked position, and B is in open position. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line II II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line III III of Fig.1. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, and Fig. 5 is a modification.

My invention relates to improved means for operating the locking device of car-couplers in such manner that the couplers can be applied readily to use on passenger-cars, gravelcars, or in other locations where the conditions are such as to require that the operating mechanism shall be at the side or that there shall be no opening at the top of the couplerhead.

The coupler to which I show my invention applied is illustrated in the drawings of my Patent No. 541,446, dated June 18, 1895, and while in combination with couplers of such construction it performs important functions, and is made the subject of specific claim herein. I intend also to claim it broadly as applicable to couplers of other forms.

As stated in my said patent, the coupler 2 is of the usual type. It has two jaws 3 and 4, and is provided with an internal cavity or recess which extends laterally into the jaw 4, and is adapted to permit the coupling-knuckle 5 to swing upon its pivot-pin 6. This knuckle is formed with an outer arm I) and an inner and preferably-longer armor tail 0, which proj ect substantially at right angles to each other, and the rear side of the tail is formed with a hook d. In order to hold the knuckle in locked position, (the position shown in Fig. 2 and at B in Fig. 1,) I employ an angled locking and opening piece setwithin the coupler-head and shown most clearly on Sheets 2 and 3 of the drawings. The upper and transversely-extending member or arm 6 of this angled piece reaches over the tail of the knuckle. Its dependent block or head 7 is adapted to fit in front of and to lock the knuckle when in closed position, and its dependent arm f, which extends downwardly at the rear of the knuckle and is substantially upright when the knuckle is in locked position, passes through a guide-hole gin the floor of the coupler. When the knuckle is locked, the head 7 of the angled piece fitsbetween the front side of the knuckle-tailand the shoulder h on the coupler-head, but when the angled piece is raised it moves above the knuckle and out of its path of motion.

To release the knuckle and to permit it to be swung into the open position shown at A in Fig. 1, the brakeman, by the mechanism hereinafter described, raises the angled piece until the end of its head 7 clears the tail of the knuckle and passes above the horizontal path of its motion, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, whereupon the knuckle can be swung open either by direct action of the hand or by continuing the lifting of the angled piece untila notch c' on the upward side of its member 6 engages a projecting rib or shoulder 9 on the coupler-head, whereupon the angled piece will tip radially in a vertical plane in a direction transverse to the length of the draw-bar. Such radial motion of the angled piece, by bringing its rearwardly-depending arm into action upon the rear side of the. tail of the knuckle,will move the knuckle outwardly into open position. When the knuckle is swung back to locking position, the rear side of the knuckle-tail will then engage the arm f and will move the angled piece so as to carry said .arm back toward a vertical position until its lower end comes into register with the hole g, and then the angled piece will drop by gravity, its arm f entering the hole and its head 7 adjusting itself in front of the knuckle-tail and locking the knuckle, as shown at Fig. 2and at the coupler-head B in Fig. 1.

There is on the under and forward sides of the head 7 of the angled piece a bevel or inclined surface j and at the upper and rear corner of the head a parallel bevel or incline is. These bevels are so formed as to match and to correspond to parallel beveled surfaces m and n, which are situate at the sides of the coupler-head and form a short groove or passage, within which the head 7 may travel in its upward and downward motions. The consequence is that when the angled piece is lifted for the purpose of unlocking the knuckle its head does not move in a single vertical plane, but, being guided by the beveled surfaces m and n, moves also forward, turning with a radial motion on the axis of the dependent arm f. This radial motion continues until the initial lifting of the angled piece has been completed and until its member 8 has been brought into contact with the shoulder 9. In like manner when the angled piece is dropped in the act of locking the knuckle the engagement of the surface 9' on the head 7 with the surface 0% on the coupler-head causes the member 6 to turn backwardly with a radial motion on the axis of the vertical arm f, and thus to move its head toward the throat of the coupler.

The device for lifting the locking mechanism, and it is to this that my present invention relates, consists of a continuous single bell-crank lever 10, which extends through a vertical slot in the side of the coupler-head and is pivoted thereto at 11. The inner end of the lever is beneath the head 7 of the angled piece, and the pivotal axis of the lever is inclined, so that when it is turned thereon it shall move, not in a vertical plane,but in an inclined path, corresponding to the inclined path of motion of the head 7. The consequence is that if the lever be turned the rising of its inner end will engage and lift the head of the-angled piece, tipping it radially, as above described, and will follow it and maintain contact with it throughout its motion. The lever is not attached to the angled piece, but fits freely and loosely beneath it. After the angled piece has been raised, as above described, and is released, the lever will drop down into the position shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig 4, the lever, when applied to passenger-carcouplers, is curved upwardly on the outside of the coupler-head and is connected bya chain or link 12, extending transversely, substantially at right angles to the line of the draw-head, to an operating-lever pivoted to the car-platform, so that by manipulating said lever the chain or link is pulled laterally and the lever 10 rocked on its pivot to unlock and tip the angled piece. For this purpose the end of the lever outside the coupler-head extends in a vertical direction, upwardly or downwardly, so that a horizontal pull on the chain or link 12 will tip the lever.

Fig. 5 shows the application of the device to the coupler of a gravel-train, where the operating-chain 12 extends under the coupling-head to the side of the car. The construction here is the same as above described, except that the outer arm of the lever is curved downwardly.

The advantages of my invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The device is simple, easy of operation, and is very strong and durable.

I claim- 1. A car-coupler having a lock adapted to be lifted to free the knuckle, and an oscillatory upwardly movable lock-lifting lever which is single and continuous, is fulcrumed in the coupling-head, extending through the side thereof in a vertical direction, the inner end of the lever being situated beneath the look but unattached thereto, and the outer end being connected by a chain or link 12 which extends in a transverse direction to an operating-lever and is adapted to be pulled thereby; substantially as described.

2. A car-coupler having a lock adapted to be lifted with a vertical motion combined with a motion lengthwise of the draw-bar as described, and a lever which extends through the side of the coupling-head beneath the lock, said lever being pivoted on a fulcrum inclined to the horizontal, so that it shall follow the lock in its motion; substantially as described.

3. A car-coupler having a tipping angled locking device, having a portion which extends back of the knuckle-tail for opening the same, and another portion which extends over and in front of the tail for lockin g it, and an oscillatory upwardly-movable lock-lifting lever fulcrumed in the coupler-head and extending through the side thereof, the inner end of the lever being situate beneath the locking device but unattached thereto; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CLINTON A. TOWER.

\Vitnesses:

A. PERRY BURCH, D. \V. CALL. 

